A Purpose Lies Within

“It made me really sad that I didn’t know about it, even though I live in West Philly only a 5 minute bike ride away.”
-          Kara Khan

Hotep,

It’s always inspiring to meet or read about people who live purposeful lives.  The common trait for people of this ilk, is their everyday lives play out like the next chapter of a best-selling novel.  Hear me breathe people.

I recently encountered the purposeful life of Kara Khan.  By the time this goes to press, this photography student will be a graduate of Drexel University.  Kudos to her, right?  Well hold your congrats, because Ms. Kara is not only becoming a college graduate, more importantly, she’s taken the next step to becoming the embodiment of a humanitarian.  Word is bond.

Twenty-six years ago, four years before Kara’s birth, the mayor of Philadelphia, PA approved a police plan to drop an explosive on a row house occupied by members of a pro-African American organization called, “Move.” The end result was tragic.  Eleven occupants of the Move house were killed, including 5 children.  Sixty-one homes burned down.  May 13, 1985 was a dark day for my city of “Brotherly Love.” Feel me?

Kara decided to photograph the neighborhood that lies within Osage Avenue and Pine Street for her senior thesis.  Today, the neighborhood resembles a ghost town.  Twenty-three homes are still occupied by some diehard residents.  But, the neighborhood has been a desolate, crime ridden gauntlet to these inhabitants who refused a buyout offer from the city years ago.  Kara’s photographs went on exhibit as a means of bringing awareness to the mistreatment of these loyal homeowners.

“If this had happened in Center City or at Rittenhouse Square, I’m sure there would have been some kind of Statue or memorial about it,” she said…my sentiments exactly.  When you think of all the wrong in the world today:  

*Ten year old boy kills his abusive Nazi dad in Riverside, Cali,

*Nine year old girl raped and murdered 3 days after she escaped the clutches of the same assailant,

*New records handed over by the DEA show prison officials may have broken the law when importing lethal injection drugs.

How can you not applaud the valiant efforts of a younger generation acknowledging the past to make a positive difference for our future?  That’s what’s up!  The purposeful life of people like Kara Khan brings all of us one step closer to humanity.  Our purpose in this life isn’t lost, nor is it hidden.  It’s just waiting, accompanied by the ideal situation to bring it to fruition.  Na mean?

So what’s next, blogosphere?  Do we continue to merely exist or do we begin to live our lives purposefully for the betterment of humanity?  The ideal situation awaits us.  Ya heard?

One,

MannofStat, NP 4 Life

Copyright © 2011 by Leroy Elwood Mann